Thursday, August 27, 2015

I know that a sea of golden barrel cacti suggests Mexico, perhaps, or California...but Athens? or more precisely, Kapandriti (a suburb of Athens in Attica)...The climate of Attica is not that different from much of Southern California where there are hundreds of nurseries specializing in cacti and succulents. One may not immediately associate Greece with succulents, but American Century Plants (Agave americana) and Prickly Pears (mostly Opuntia ficus-indica) are a conspicuous feature in much of the Greek countryside. And there are an active group of succulent lovers in Greece, chief among whom is Aristides Poulimenos, the owner of the largest cactus nursery in Greece.

One of the delivery vehicles with a Mexican themed mural...

The family name Πουλημένος (Poulimenos in transliteration) means "being sold"--a rather auspicious name for a business! And it seems as though the business has thrived and is thriving still..You can check out their sales rap on their delightful website.

They do some landscaping around their home with succulents as well...

Here are the current owners, father and son

The father is Aristides: the son, recently graduated from the University, has a similarly classic name I have forgotten: I hope they will fill me in!

I love racks full of plants!

And MORE: my friend Randy Ortega at Nick's has a classic line "I love plants--especially the one that just walked out the door!"

Echeverias galore...

The ubiquitous Greek cat...

More terrific finished succulents of all descriptions...

Prickly pears: some of my favorites...

On the right is Liberto Dario (a.k.a. Eleftherios Dariotis) our host for the day--an outstanding seedsman and botanist.

Random shots around the nursery...

Benches with show specimens...

More...

And more...

And even more...

A handsome Agave victoria-reginae in the garden..

A wall full of accolades and awards on the office wall..

And more succulents!

What I just said..

A blooming agave...

Golden barrels up the wazoo...

More Opuntia (yay!)

Columnar cacti..

And an enigmatic final shot...

Aristide showed me a powerpoint of the most spectacular succulent gardens he's created on some of the Greek islands--as beautiful as anything I've seen in San Diego or Santa Barbara--only with the haunting seascape of Greece beyond and those gorgeous houses....

This nursery was a delight: Thank you Liberto and Aristide for a wonderful visit!

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Don't bother to count: there are not exactly 50 plants...but a smattering of some of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of pictures I took over the last few weeks on my Chanticleer sponsored scholarship. 42 days encompassed not only Ulu Dag and Olimbos (the "Two Olympuses") which were the focus of the trip, but we managed to visit a number of neighboring ranges as well, which gave a greater context to the trip, and added enormous numbers of species. We were lucky to have had an extremely wet and very late spring--so lots was still blooming in July: it would have been much sparser on a "normal year"...I was extremely fortunate to have three very knowledgeable and dynamic associates along who enhanced the trip enormously: Eleutherios Dariotis is a keen plantsman and horticulturist from Athens with a truly astonishing knowledge of the Mediterranean flora. You can thank him for all the accurate names (I take blame for any mistakes). Eric Hsu, Record Keeper at Chanticleer, was also a taxonomic whiz, as well as possessing an eagle eye for design and special things. Bob Beer's fluent Turkish was invaluable, along with his keen plantsmanship. All three have cameos below.

Oh yes: the Broomrape! Quite abundant in the montane and subalpine macchie of Ulu Dag. I will eventually write a far more comprehensive and thoughtful overview of this trip in perhaps several publications: you shall just have to wait for that to get a better context: sorry!

*P.S. if you click on a picture, you can scroll through with larger images and escape my droning commentary.

Asperula nitida ssp. nitida on Ulu Dag

We were to find spectacular alpine cushion Asperula on every mountain we visited--some had two or three species. Ulu dag only one.

Daphne oleioides on Ulu Dag

I believe we saw this on almost every mountain we visited: it was profuse on Ulu Dag--far more compact than what is usually encountered in cultivation. Both subalpine and alpine there.

Leopoldia bourgaei on Ulu Dag

Similar to the much earlier blooming L. comosa (both sometimes listed as Muscari). This would make a graceful rock garden plant.

Orchis mascula ssp. pinetorum on Ulu Dag

This was the commonest orchid on Ulu Dag: the mountain is still heavily grazed, which may affect orchid abundance.

Genista lydia on Ulu Dag

Much tinier than the plant of the same name in cultivation (gallon pots of which were selling at Home Depot this spring for $15.00). This grew in dense mats, often meters across, in the subalpine fir forest and above treeline.

Saxifraga sibirica on Ulu Dag

I saw this in the tundra of the Altai mountains looking much the same.

Gentiana verna ssp. balcanica on Ulu Dag

This looks essentially identical to typical G. verna of the alps (or G. uniflora of the Altai for that matter)

Myosotis alpestris on Ulu Dag

One of the most dramatic forget-me-nots I've ever seen! Alpine on this mountain.

The mullein was universal on the mountain. The other famous endemic (V. bombyciferum) was not. I only found it near the base of the Teleferik in Bursa, and neglected to take a pic (surely I'll see more?).

Scilla bifolia on Ulu Dag

Fu to see classic garden plants in the wild; this was only blooming near snow banks--in seed further away.

Acantholimon trojanum on Kaz Dag

Possibly my favorite plant of the trip. I've grown this for years, but never had it bloom like this. I shall try harder! On tundra on the ancient Mt. Ida near Troy.

Alpine steppe aflame on Kaz Dag

The alpine steppe was breathtaking.

Salvia ringens on Mt. Olimbos

I was not expecting to see so much of this on Mt. Olympus--from the lowest elevation almost to treeline. One of the hardest plants I know to photograph--this just gives you a hint of its charm.

Pinus heldreichii on Mt. Olimbos

If you click on the picture you will see two people at the base of this fabulous tree: worth climbing Olympus just for that!

Viola delphinantha on Mt. Olimbos

I don't think this needs a commentary.

Campanula oreadum on Mt. Olimbos

Endemic gem of the higher parts of the mountain.

The throne of Zeus

We made it as far as the "plateau of the Muses"--not to the top, alas. This was tough enough!

Centranthus longiflorus on Mt. Olimbos

Doesn't this look almost EXACTLY like Agastache rupestris? Which grows on very similar habitat in the Chihuahuan highlands.

Utterly unlike the forms of this species in cultvation: would love to have this in my garden!

Some people don't like prickly plants: this gorgeous thing could change that! I must have taken fifty pictures of it.

Digitalis ferruginea

We saw many foxgloves.

Mt. Giona (fifth highest mountain in Greece)

No time, alas, to explore this mountain which has several endemic taxa! Maybe another time...

Dianthus haematocalyx ssp. ventricosus on Mt. Parnassos

Not as much blooming when we visited Parnassus, but I could see there was a fantastic show there a few months ago...

Goat sculpted Kermes Oaks (Quercus coccifera)

Can't imagine how many goats have munched on these...they were perfect Moore sculptures!

Acer sempervirens and Macchie on White Mountains of Crete

Another glorious tree--this one an evergreen maple. Which has proved hardy in Colorado!

Verbascum spinosum on White Mountains of Crete

One of the most anomalous of mulleins, forming twiggy shrubs. I grew this for many years.

Verbascum spinosum on White Mountains of Crete

This is the same species forming a much wider tuft.

Astragalus angustifolius on the White Mountains of Crete

The largest specimen of this wonderful milk fetch. That's the highest mountains in Western Crete behind.

Erica manipulifloraon White Mountains of Crete

Thrilled to see this late blooming heather endemic to the region here. A windpower generator behind (hate those things).

Thymbra capitata on Crete

A spectacular cousin to thyme that we saw blooming all over Greece and Turkey. I MUST grow this!

Cacti for sale at a bazaar in Istanbul

The Turks like their cacti: it's not all wild things there you know!

Buffet at Pontic restaurant in Istanbul

Greek and Turkish food is invariably delicious and fresh. You can't go wrong here even in the most remote village or food stand.

Salvia candidissima at Istanbul Botanic Garden

I have many hundreds of pictures taken at Reykjavik's botanic garden, Copenhagen's gardens as well as the small, but wonderful botanic garden in Istanbul. If you ask nicely, perhaps I shall show you some of these...Meanwhile, thank you for sampling my nearly fifty plants!

**special thanks to Eleutherios Dariotis for help in more accurately determining the names above. Also to Eric Hsu for catching my misidentification of Centranthus longiflorus (which I presumed was C. angustifolius).

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Galanthus nivalis 'Viridapice'

February 21, 2018

Many of you have the impression that everything is always blooming always lovely in Denver. I suppose I have done a pretty good job of fooling you: last Sunday we had nearly 70F--and I was out in the garden, cutting back grasses and planting 200 pots of seedlings. By Monday morning the temperature had dropped to -4F (From 20C to -20C!). Such are the joys of the steppe climate. What are the chances my Mume which was opening its first flowers on Sunday has not been blasted?